The Centered Place
January 2021
Newsletter
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In This Newsletter:
- Notes about receiving this newsletter
- Hope
- The Silver Lining Is Clear to See
- Meditation 101: Learn to Meditate and Enjoy your Self
- A Thank You Note from Shanti (Ellan)
- What We Donated this Year to Charities and Causes: Thanks to You!
- Let's Extend the Season of Giving
- Students donate cash values of unused class cards
- Gratitude
- COVID Precaution about Attending Classes Onsite this month
- Class Schedule
- Class Fees
- Spread the Word
- Birthdays this Month
- Freebies: Wisdom from Swami Nirmalananda
- Video Inspiration
- More Wisdom
- EnLightenUp (Some Light Stuff)
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Notes about Receiving Newsletters
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Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering "it will be happier"...
~ Alfred Lord Tennyson
May all beings have the ears to hear that whisper,
the eyes to see the good in others
and the heart to welcome the many wonderful possibilities in this new year.
Happy, Healthy New Year from us to you, and all!
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The Silver Lining Is Clear to See
With all that you have gone through the past year or so, it is easy to be skeptical about the future. Much of the news you read and see might only serve to cast a darker shadow on your hopes. But if you look more objectively and in the right places, you can see much to brighten the new year. Take these two steps and you won't have to worry about fulfilling your new year's resolutions:
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1. Take a look inward
Take the yogic perspective. Look inward. Meditate.
Meditation opens the door to a more joyful appreciation of life. In a matter of days, a regular meditation practice literally begins changing your brain, let alone your mind and perspective. Even a few minutes of meditation a day can make a difference.
Scientists using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have been able to verify significant changes in the brains of students who have learned to meditate. For example, the brain scans revealed that meditation practice:
- Activates and strengthens the part of the brain that builds empathy and compassion for others.
- Enlarges and strengthens the part of the brain that determines your ability to concentrate and maintain present moment awareness.
- Decreases the size of the amygdala, the part of the brain that produces feelings of anxiety, fear and stress. As the amygdala decreases in size, you become less emotionally reactive. You are able to maintain a sense of calm even under the most challenging circumstances.
Being less reactive while more appreciative, present and compassionate – all these benefits and more will make you the kind of person the world so badly needs today. And that's the most important step toward changing the world around you.
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“Meditation is the ultimate antidote to the stresses of modern life…”
~ Boston Globe
“This was life changing. I have been searching for something to make my life more centered, balanced and calm. Meditation is the answer.”
~ S. Peterson
“If you have any interest or curiosity about meditation, I can’t imagine a better way to be introduced to it.”
~ P. Sullivan
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Have you always wanted to get a meditation practice going? There is no better time to start than now.
To help you get a good start, we offer our 3-week Meditation 101 course this month. You will:
- Learn how to sit comfortably and quiet your mind
- Learn and experience the benefits of meditation
- Learn how to bring the benefits of meditation into your life
- Receive coaching to help develop and maintain a successful practice
If you have already tried meditating but didn't get anywhere, this course will be perfect for you. Get your practice going in the right direction.
Fridays 7 to 9 pm, January 15, 22 & 29
$90 attending onsite/ $75 online
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2. Know your true nature - and that of others:
Are you Divine or are you Lord of the Flies?
Learn more about your Self, your true essence. That's the main goal of Svaroopa® yoga and meditation.
Your true essence is divine. As the Judeo-Christian religions say, you were "created in the image of God." As the mystics, saints and sages of most all creeds concur, you are Divine. God is within all beings. God is being all beings, being you and being me.
Unfortunately, the conventional wisdom is that human nature is far from angelic. More than likely, you have been taught that humans are barbaric by nature, sinners by default. This viewpoint was clearly depicted in a book that you most likely read in high school: William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Written in 1954, millions of copies have been sold since. The book has been translated into more than 30 languages, and it is still assigned in most high schools. Lord of the Flies describes the fate of several schoolboys who were shipwrecked on a small deserted island. They turn savage, fighting with one another and ultimately turning the island into a wasteland.
Recently I came across writings by a Dutch historian, Rutger Bregman, who raises doubt about Golding's view of human nature. While reading about Golding's life, Bregman realized that the author of Lord of the Flies had no knowledge of behavioral science and was not an impartial judge of children's inclinations. He made up the story for his novel, and that story was not about children's dark nature but rather his own. He was an alcoholic who had a very dark view of himself.
All this is documented in Bregman's recent book Humankind: A Hopeful History. After learning about Golding, Bregman became curious about what would really happen if kids were left alone on an island. He wrote an article on the subject, comparing Lord of the Flies to modern scientific insights and concluded that, "in all probability, kids would act very differently."
Bregman began searching for a real-life Lord of the Flies example. After a long search, he found a fascinating story about six young teenage boys who set out on a fishing trip in the South Pacific in 1965 and were caught in a huge storm. The boys were shipwrecked on a deserted island. They set up a functioning democracy and communal economy. They shared chores, built sleeping huts and a kitchen, tended a garden and created a gymnasium. They got a fire going, taking turns protecting it so it never went out. They had occasional quarrels, but the rule was that the quarrelers had to take a timeout to cool down for a few hours before being brought back to the group to apologize.
After 15 months on the island, the boys were finally rescued by a passing fishing crew. The boys were extraordinarily healthy – physically, mentally and spiritually. The ship captain who rescued the boys wrote in his memoir: "Life has taught me a great deal, including the lesson that you should always look for what is good and positive in people."
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Good News about Human Nature |
This trucker has been driving big rigs for only two years and says this is the seventh time he's come to the rescue on the scene of an accident.
The truck driver, Joe Hylton (pictured at left), had pulled over into the middle of high-speed traffic in the dark to direct cars away from two cars that were almost completely destroyed. Then he heard one of the drivers scream that he couldn't find his daughter. Hylton immediately went into "dad" mode (he has three children of his own) to search the marshy area along the road. And there's good news....
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Click the image above to read the 8th of 50 Positive Stories from 2020 |
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A Thank You Note from Shanti (Ellan)
My family and I thank you all for your many generous donations honoring my grandson Brooks and for your loving support throughout his battle with cancer. Your kind words and prayers are deeply appreciated.
Shanti
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What We Donated to Charities and Causes in 2020: Thanks to You!
A grand total of $3,747 was donated in 2020, much of that from our monthly fundraisers that you supported. THANK YOU!
The charities and causes included:
- Feeding America
- Project Bread
- Food Bank of Western Massachusetts
- Food & Water Watch
- NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, Inc
- Svaroopa Vidya Ashram
- Operation Gratitude
- Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture Inc (Buy Local)
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Direct Relief: COVID-19 Relief Activities
- Feeding America: Coronavirus Relief Fund
- Merriam-Gilbert Public Library of West Brookfield
- Warren Public Library
- Opacum Land Trust
- Take Back the Night
- Second Chance Animal Shelter
- SONG Inc.(Supporting Orphans Nationally & Globally)
- East Quabbin Land Trust
- Massachusetts Audubon
- Ronald McDonald House
- Angels Answers
- Quaboag Regional HS Sons of the American Legion Scholarship
- Warren Community Elementary School Parent Teacher Fund
- Quaboag Valley Community Development Corporation
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Let's Extend the Season Of Giving |
Hunger is not going away with this pandemic: it's coming on. Let's continue to support efforts to get food to people in need.
Mother Teresa said: "If you can't feed one hundred people, just feed one." If everyone donates a little, we all will be feeding a hundred people. Maybe more!
We have extended December's three fundraisers through January, supporting these organizations that fight for and feed the hungry:
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Students donate the cash value of classes they could not attend because of the pandemic |
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Kudos to the following students who graciously donated their unused classes from class cards purchased in 2020 before the pandemic began. The total of $791 was divided amongst our current fundraisers and our Scholarship Fund.
- Anne R.J.
- Pam H.
- Amy M.
- Bob J.
- Amy O.
- Cindy D.
- Denise & Paul P.
The Scholarship Fund is reserved for anyone who needs financial assistance to attend our classes. If you are experiencing financial hardship that interferes with you coming to classes, let us know. We will gladly support you thanks to this fund.
Note: A number of students have donated to the Scholarship Fund in the past. We wished we had acknowledged them then but didn't think of it. And if we were to acknowledge all those who have contributed to our fundraisers in the past, there would not be enough room to do so here! Thank you everyone for your generosity.
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Gratitude
"In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy...Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more."
Brother David Steindl-Rast
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COVID Precaution about Attending Classes at the Studio This Month |
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If you have travelled over the holidays or mingled with others not in your immediate pod, please avoid attending classes at the studio for two weeks. We hope you can join us online during that time.
Thank you for being willing to respect this request and the safety of others.
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Class Schedule Status: Onsite and Online |
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Our onsite (in studio) classes have been well received. We have limited the size of our classes to ensure proper social distancing, yet none of our classes are full and most of them have plenty of open spaces. But just in case, do contact us before coming to make sure there is room for you.
Here's our schedule. All classes are offered onsite, and all classes except Tuesday morning are offered online. You can enroll for an Experienced class if you know the basic poses and need little assistance.
Mondays
5:30 to 7 pm Continuing Svaroopa® Yoga
8:30 to 9 pm Free Relaxing Shavasana/Ujjayi
Tuesdays
9:00 to 10:30 am Continuing Svaroopa® Yoga (studio only)
6:30 to 8:30 pm Svaroopa® Yoga+Meditation
Wednesdays
5:00 to 6:30 pm Continuing Svaroopa® Yoga
8:30 to 9 pm Free Relaxing Shavasana/Ujjayi
Thursdays
9 to 10:30 am Continuing Svaroopa® Yoga
7 to 8:30 pm Experienced Svaroopa® Yoga
Fridays
10:00 to 11:30 am Experienced Svaroopa® Yoga
Saturdays
10:00 to 11:30 am Continuing Svaroopa® Yoga
To register for a class that you want to attend in our studio, email or call us (413) 436-7374. To register for an online (via Zoom) class, email or call to obtain information for joining the class.
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Class Fees
Pay by check, Venmo (@PhilMilgrom-TCP) or PayPal (paypal.me/TheCenteredPlace).
Senior retirees may take a 10% discount off class fees.
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Online Classes Open Up Possibilities for Friends and Relatives from Outside the Vicinity |
Spread the word. Get a Free class If someone you invite comes to our classes.
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Birthdays This Month
We wish the following students and friends a very happy birthday. Those whose names are in bold are students we are currently attending classes. Wish we could embolden the rest of you!
Please note this observation by Reverend Larry Lorenzoni: “Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most birthdays live the longest.” So keep having those birthdays!
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Dianne Johnson (1st), Gail Noonan (1st), Nancy (Purna) Chang (2nd), Louise Douglas (11th), Melissa Delargy (12th), Kara Legault (16th), Beth Elliott (19th), Kim Kvaracein (20th), Gisela Kaup (21st), Monique Piotte (23rd), Stephanie Bauer (24th), Pat Mallory (25th), Paul Regan (26th), Jim Baron (27th), Phil Sullivan (27th), Faye Allen (28th), Dave Bennett (28th), Kathy Cody (31st)
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Freebies: Wisdom from Swami Nirmalananda |
Free audio recordings of Swami Nirmalananda discourses are available online. Listen from home or during your travels. Listen from your cell phone or PC. https://svaroopa.org/audio-recording
You can also find many other free sources of wisdom and inspiration on the ashram website at https://svaroopa.org/freebies/, including a blog and years and years of teaching articles (monthly contemplation articles). You can subscribe to have daily E-quotes sent to your inbox every morning.
This month's teaching article is titled "Who Am I?"
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Video Inspiration of the Month
Auld Lang Syne -- The song, poetry, photos of nature and fireworks celebrating the new year. Thanks to Nancy (Purna) Chang
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“It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”
― Albert Einstein
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A couple with three children waited in line at San Francisco's Pier 41 to purchase tickets for a boat trip to Alcatraz.
Others watched with varying degrees of sympathy and irritation as the young children fidgeted, whined, and punched one another. The frazzled parents reprimanded them to no avail.
Finally they reached the ticket window.
"Five tickets, please," the father said. "Two round trip, three one way."
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Wanna bet that in 2015 not a single person got the answer correct to, "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"
Our answer: You would have been and will be in a good place if you continued practicing yoga and meditation!
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Thanks to all of you. You DO make a difference!
Our gratitude for your amazing presence in our lives!
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Stay safe. Stay well. Stay happy. |
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